Anyone familiar with this?
I have oncor wanting to run power poles every 100 feet down the front of my property and crossing over my driveway which I'm very unhappy about. It appears that they want to put these poles almost on top of my metal fence line running the property as well.

Do I have any rights here? Anything I can do to stop it or at least require them to bury the lines? Attorneys I can hire to get involved and at least delay the inevitable?

I feel like I have a beautiful property and these power lines running along the front will cause the value to depreciate.

What sort of easement do they have? Is it a blanket that covers all the property? First check the document for what they are authorized to do.

I just assume they have the right because it's right off the FM2609 road and that there is a certain length off the road they can basically do what they want?

I work in utilities. They very likely have a utility easement or are in the public right of way. Either one gives them a right to make a utility placement and you will have very little recourse.

Electric lines can be run underground but is extremely expensive. You can actually pay them to bury the lines IF you have a big 5 or maybe 6 figures of cash laying around. Developers do it all the time.

The only thing that might help is if there is a local city ordinance that affects aerial utility placement. Counties have no real authority to regulate utilities per the state, so they can't help really.

Transmission or distribution? If it is transmission, there will probably be a docket filed at the PUC. If distribution, you may be on your own. If they are following a platted ROW, you may have a tough time.

Have they come and talked with you? Any town hall type meetings? If not I would suggest calling them and finding out what is going on. Fortune favors the proactive in these cases.

MouthBQ98 said:

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I work in utilities. They very likely have a utility easement or are in the public right of way. Either one gives them a right to make a utility placement and you will have very little recourse.

Electric lines can be run underground but is extremely expensive. You can actually pay them to bury the lines IF you have a big 5 or maybe 6 figures of cash laying around. Developers do it all the time.

The only thing that might help is if there is a local city ordinance that affects aerial utility placement. Counties have no real authority to regulate utilities per the state, so they can't help really.

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Ask the company that contacted you to provide you with the utility easement if they have one.
In my area the state owns the fm road bed but the electric lines must have their own easement on my property as they do not put the lines on the state property.

Your survey and or title insurance policy should include any easements on your land.

I've staked a whole lot of FM ROW for distribution coops to plant new poles on the State's side of the line by 5 feet. Don't assume they're putting it on your property along an FM.

Don't assume anything. Start calling/emailing and find out

In my case I was bringing new power lines 2,500 ft along the fm. My neighbor and I both had to give the electric company an easement to put the new poles on our land. Definitely not on the state property/ road bed. I was lucky to not get any objection from the neighbor as their electricity went to their home on the other side of their property and the new line had to go across their property frontage and driveway.

Mas89 said:

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MouthBQ98 said:

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I work in utilities. They very likely have a utility easement or are in the public right of way. Either one gives them a right to make a utility placement and you will have very little recourse.

Electric lines can be run underground but is extremely expensive. You can actually pay them to bury the lines IF you have a big 5 or maybe 6 figures of cash laying around. Developers do it all the time.

The only thing that might help is if there is a local city ordinance that affects aerial utility placement. Counties have no real authority to regulate utilities per the state, so they can't help really.

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Ask the company that contacted you to provide you with the utility easement if they have one.
In my area the state owns the fm road bed but the electric lines must have their own easement on my property as they do not put the lines on the state property.

Your survey and or title insurance policy should include any easements on your land.

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If it is a new line, and it sounds like one, and they are along the ROW, I am sure they are planning to use the ROW and not have an easement.

Very little can be done. They should miss the fence, as they should be a least a few feet off the ROW/prop line. If they do have to mess with the fence, they would be required to fix it. Now if your fence vears off the prop line and into ROW, then you may be SOL.

Like mentioned above, you can pay to have them go underground, but it is expensive. Maybe only pay to go underground right around the driveway area?

You can also hire a ROW attorney/appraiser to see if you can explore the damage to the property value, but most places have OHE lines along ROW and not sure how valid that will be.

normaleagle05 said:

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Don't assume anything. Start calling/emailing and find out

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This is excellent advice. Back in my homebuilding days I had instances where I had to adjust where I was going to place a house or garage by a few feet on the lot because the utilities were located outside of the property ROW.

Wahoo82 said:

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Transmission or distribution?

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With span lengths of "every 100 ft." I suspect this is a low voltage distribution line. Transmission line structures typically have greater span lengths (800-1000 ft.), depending on topography and constraints.

I did not know that Encor would be running normal distribution lines. Seems like that would be done by the local CO-OP or local power company. Either way, if it's on your property they must have or produce proof of utility easement. If you have an accurate survey it should show that and be identified in your title/deed.

Don't trust any power company unless it's your local CO-OP. The transmission companies like Encor, LCRA, etc have only one agenda…. to make money. They are not your friends and could care less about your land.

Local distribution spans will be more like 200-250 feet. They can do up to 400 or so but the pole loadings make that difficult. The neutral will be at something like 25 feet minimum.

Just wow. Beautiful place. Feel your pain. We just think we own our land.
Maybe make them move it to the other side of the road?

normaleagle05 said:

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I've staked a whole lot of FM ROW for distribution coops to plant new poles on the State's side of the line by 5 feet. Don't assume they're putting it on your property along an FM.

Don't assume anything. Start calling/emailing and find out

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The power company most likely has an easement from whatever entity owns the road ROW (State in the case of an FM road.) Something I have seen in the past is where landowners conveyed the gov't a ROW for a road, but limited the ROW to road purposes. Then, years later, the gov't entity grants an easement to a utility company even though their ROW only permitted a road. So, you'll want to find the instrument that originally conveyed the road ROW to the gov't entity.

They are likely staking the limits of the right of way with those stakes (as labeled ROW) and will typically come 2-3 feet off of that line to place the poles. Just FYI.

Is your property platted? If so, they're may be a utility easement that was reserved at the time of platting. And if that exists, they have the right to go within that easement for their utilities.

Those stakes are marked "CL ROW" which should mean centerline of right-of-way. They do not appear to be pole stakes; I am very familiar with stakes marking pole locations. Your fence appears to be a foot or so inside the ROW line.

As mentioned above, if the poles are being placed in public ROW, you likely can't prevent installation. If the poles are being installed on private property, an easement will be required, existing or otherwise.

Also, distribution poles are normally spaced at ~250' and t-line poles are 500-600'. At least the utility that I'm familiar with, this is a common spacing.

They are using the FM ROW so you can't do anything about it. Make sure the cross bars that hold the wires on top don't cross your property line. Those poles are awful close to your fence. I assume the are doing single phase with no cross bars.

Can you get a picture of the lines on the poles that they are extending?

Wow, BEAUTIFUL land.
I'm heartsick FOR you. That's outrageous.

Lance in Round Mountain said:

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Wahoo82 said:

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Transmission or distribution?

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With span lengths of "every 100 ft." I suspect this is a low voltage distribution line. Transmission line structures typically have greater span lengths (800-1000 ft.), depending on topography and constraints.

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Yep - missed that part in the OP.

nactownag said:

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There is a ton of ambiguity in this photo. I'd want to talk to the RPLS that directed this field crew (which is what I do for a living). Are those placed at the FM ROW line? Are they at the centerline of area approved for Oncor's use?

One guarantee...the crew building the power line can't tell any better than I can.

normaleagle05 said:

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nactownag said:

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There is a ton of ambiguity in this photo. I'd want to talk to the RPLS that directed this field crew (which is what I do for a living). Are those placed at the FM ROW line? Are they at the centerline of area approved for Oncor's use?

One guarantee...the crew building the power line can't tell any better than I can.

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Stake says ROW if you look close

They also say "C/L". Which is it?

My guess is those are poles for fiber internet, my electric company did the same thing. The bad news is those poles are much shorter and the cable bigger and much more pronounced (much uglier than power poles), good news is you may have fiber as on option pretty soon.

The C/L at the top of those most likely refers to clearing limits / construction limits of the right of way.

I've been in surveying and civil engineering since 2001 and never seen that stacked CL mean anything other than centerline.

What does that tell me then?

nactownag said:

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What does that tell me then?

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That's the ambiguity. It's probably the edge of the State's ROW. I always direct my crews to place lathes marking a property line like that so that the broad face of the lathe is down the line.

The CL, centerline, symbol suggests that it's the middle of something, either 1) an easement out of your property and your fence is well back from the ROW line, or 2) the center of a licensed area from the State that is super narrow and close to your fence. If the latter, the arms and swinging wires will likely encroach on your property. If the former, I'd want to read the easement document. I think the latter is more likely.

Those lathes look to be on the order of 100 feet apart, which is a common staking interval. That is not likely to reflect the actual planned pole spacing.

What is the easiest way to get the easement document ? Would I have received that in my survey when I bought the property

If there is an easement on your property that they are using it should show on the Schedule B of your title commitment.

How did you find out about the project? Because the staking showed up or because you were contacted about it? If contacted, you should have an avenue to ask deeper questions of Oncor.

I misspoke. See revision above. I'd bet the line is to be built in the State's FM right-of-way.

Assuming that is correct, the real confusion is whether the crew is to build the line offset toward the road from the staked line or straight on the staked line. On the line, if they staked the ROW line, will encroach on your property.

One foot inside the ROW. That is typical of most utilities. This looks about correct to me if your fence is right on the property line. Sux but it is what it is. I doubt you have any recourse here.

That seems like a crap ton of poles for that distance. Those aren't pole stakes I don't think but y'all probably already said that.